


Touhou ~ Tournament Beyond All Boundaries

by GooeyHeat



Category: King of Fighters, Touhou Project
Genre: Action, Crossover, Gen, tags will be updated as characters appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooeyHeat/pseuds/GooeyHeat
Summary: Nakoruru, a nature spirit, crosses time and space to gather teammates to enter the King of Fighters tournament and defeat a looming threat. Her search for allies ends up pulling two powerful fighters from an illusionary land called Gensokyo...
Kudos: 11





	1. The Emissary of Nature

**Author's Note:**

> Ah yes, a crossover made specifically for me and nobody else. King of Fighters meets Touhou? Well, I hope you enjoy too.  
> This is a loose retelling of the story of KOFXIV, centered around Nakoruru, Reimu, and Marisa. Though it mostly takes place in the world of KOF, other Touhou characters will make appearances of their own.
> 
> Expect updates... whenever, because I've never managed to keep an actual schedule. Rated T for some swearing.

The sun shone down on the Hakurei Shrine on a beautiful, late spring morning. A light breeze that rustled through the trees kept the temperature from rising too high, and birds chirped in the distance. The ambient sounds of nature were punctuated by the sound of a girl's voice.

"La, la, la la la, la-la la la..."

Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of paradise, clad in red and white as usual, sang to herself swept the leaves off of the shrine's front path. Such a simple job may have been tedious for some, but she found it a relaxing part of her morning routine, especially when the weather was this nice. So relaxing, in fact, that she failed to notice a large hawk flying directly towards her.

That is, of course, until the bird snatched her broom right out of her hands.

"What the- Hey, what the hell are you doing? Are you one of Kasen's animals or something? Give that back!" Reimu immediately turned grumpy, shouting as she tried to grab the broom back. The hawk flew upwards and held it just outside of her reach, however, and her hand met nothing but air. "Why you..." she grumbled.

"Hey, Mamahaha, stop that- Huh!?"

A girl's voice came from the stairs leading up to the shrine, but as that girl crested the top of the stairs, she saw something she didn't expect: Reimu suddenly soared into the sky and grabbed the broom right out of the bird's talons.

"Ha! Take that, you overgrown turkey!" Reimu shouted, smiling as she floated in the air, holding her broom as a trophy of the aerial clash. As she gloated, she looked down and happened to notice a girl standing below her. The girl looked to be slightly younger than Reimu, and she wore what looked to be traditional Ainu robes, white with red trim, with baggy pants colored to match. A red ribbon was tied in her long, black hair.

"Mamahaha!" the girl called. At this, the hawk that had been tormenting Reimu suddenly flew down and alighted on the girl's shoulder. Curious, Reimu floated downwards and landed softly on the path in front of the girl.

"This your bird?" Reimu asked.

"A-ah, yes..." the girl responded. She spoke softly, with a much gentler tone than Reimu tended to. "Sorry about that, she doesn't usually... I mean..." The girl took a deep breath. "Are you... Hakurei?"

"Yeah, that's me. Reimu Hakurei, this shrine's miko. If you didn't know that, I'd say you aren't from around here, but you aren't dressed like people from the outside usually are, so I'm not sure..."

"Oh, thank goodness," the girl said. "I was in a village and they told me to look for the Hakurei shrine maiden." She looked into Reimu's eyes with a serious expression. "My name is Nakoruru, and your world and many others are in great danger. I need your help."

Reimu and Nakoruru sat on the floor across from each other inside the shrine's main building, each holding a cup of tea. The hawk, named Mamahaha as Reimu learned, was waiting outside. After a sip of tea, Reimu took a moment to examine Nakoruru. The girl seemed reserved, and tended to look down and to the side, as if she were afraid to meet Reimu's gaze. She was still nervous, so after a sip of her tea, Reimu decided to push things along.

"So, Nakoruru, why don't you tell me a little about yourself and what's going on here?"

Nakoruru put down her tea. "I am a divine spirit of nature who travels across space and time to prevent disasters that threaten the many worlds. I have been this way for many years, working and fighting to keep the worlds safe, but..." She swallowed. "Something big is converging upon a specific world. I can't figure out what it is specifically, but it's been gathering departed souls full of evil to become immensely powerful."

Reimu looked at her inquisitively. "And you don't think you can beat it on your own?"

Nakoruru looked at Reimu, surprised at the question, but Reimu's face revealed no condescension or smugness, merely curiosity. "Well, this part might sound odd to explain, but..." Nakoruru took another deep breath. "This particular world has a longstanding tradition of fighting tournaments. These events bring together people from all over their world to clash in dramatic battles. But, as far as I can tell, these tournaments have frequently been conduits for catastrophic events, as many powerful beings attempt to use them to cause untold destruction. And this entity that I'm worried about... it's converging on this tournament." Nakoruru took a second to sip her tea. "As strange as it may sound, I believe the best way to monitor this entity would be to enter the tournament ourselves."

"That's... huh, okay." Reimu said. Stretching her arms above her head, she continued. "I can't say it's the weirdest conflict I've seen. Still, I don't think it really explains what you would need my help for. Do you not want to enter yourself?"

"Ah, well, the tournament expects entrants to form teams of three..." Nakoruru mumbled. She trailed off, looking away with an embarrassed expression.

Reimu blinked. After a pause, she started laughing. "All that just to recruit a teammate? That's almost underwhelming! I almost expected some 'this is your destiny' nonsense."

Nakoruru reddened. "W-well, I usually fight alone apart from Mamahaha, and I was just searching worlds for strong fighters, a-and I landed in that village and they said that if I needed someone strong I should go to this shrine...!"

"It's okay, it's okay," Reimu said. "Sorry for laughing, this is just all so odd." She finished up her tea. "You know what, Nakoruru? I'm in. I've been in my fair share of fights here, and I think I've faced some pretty powerful foes. If you need my help, I bet I could turn the tables for you."

Nakoruru's eyes lit up. "R-really!?"

"Yeah! Besides, now that I'm thinking about it more, it sounds like it could be fun fighting in another world!" She thought a moment. "Besides the ones I've already been to, anyway. There's no way this place can be as oppressive as Hell, right?"

Nakoruru stopped. "Y-you've been to Hell?"

"Yeah, and let me tell you there are some weirdos down there. And don't even get me started on the Animal Realm... I could do without seeing a place like that for a good while."

"O-oh..." Nakoruru said, a little lost. "Well, that's such a relief. Now I need to find one more person to fight with us. Oh, I wonder what worlds I should visit next..."

Reimu tilted her head inquisitively. "Why not just bring someone else from Gensokyo?"

"Gensokyo?"

"This world. I know plenty of strong people. I mean, a lot of them are kind of annoying, but..."

As if on cue, a loud, rough knock on the shrine's door interrupted the conversation. "Either the worst or best timing..." Reimu grumbled to herself. She stood up and slid the door open.

In front of the door should a short girl with blonde hair dressed in an elaborate and frilly black-and-white apron and dress. The most striking thing about her, however, was her large, pointed witch's hat perched on top of her head. As if to complete the look, she stood holding a broom.

"Yo, Reimu!" the girl said loudly. "There's this big bird hanging around the shrine, by the way. It tried to grab my hat!"

Reimu smiled slightly. "Hey, Marisa. Come on in."

Marisa took off her shoes and stepped through the door, and only then did she notice Nakoruru. "Hey Reimu, who's this?"

Before Reimu could answer, Nakoruru stood up quickly and took a hasty bow. "I-I'm Nakoruru! It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Marisa chuckled. "No need to be so formal. Name's Marisa Kirisame, ordinary magician."

"Marisa," Reimu started. "How do you feel about visiting other worlds?"

"Where'd that come from?" Marisa chuckled again. "It's always fun. They're all full of weird people and cool stuff. Why, ya planning a vacation or something?"

Reimu put her arms behind her head and laid back on the floor. "Long story short, this girl's a nature spirit who travels between different worlds and she needs to form a team of three to enter a fighting tournament and beat a demon or something. You in?"

Marisa leaned against the wall and whistled. "That's a lot to lay on a girl as soon as she walks in the door." She smirked. "Shit yeah, I'm in. Sounds like a hell of a time, and besides, you know I always got your back, Reimu."

Reimu turned back towards Nakoruru with a smile. "See? No need to do any more extra world-hopping, you've got a full team right here."

"Oh, thank you both so much!" Nakoruru said. "Oh, um..."

"Yes?" Reimu asked.  
"The tournament takes place over a week, so you might want to pack..." Nakoruru said, trailing off again.

"Oh, uh, I mean, I doubt I have that much to bring, but..."

Suddenly a shrill voice pierced the conversation like an arrow. "Ohh, Reiiiii-muuuuuuu~!"

Out of what looked to be a hole in the air, a tall woman with long blonde hair wearing a purple dress and a pink mob cap fell into the room.

Reimu looked at the woman and her expression immediately soured. "Yukari..." Nakoruru looked visibly startled.

Yukari put an arm around Reimu's shoulders. "Oh, my dear Reimu, I couldn't help but hear about your little trip, so I put together some things for you and your friends to help you out in that world."

Reimu scowled. "What kind of trick are you pulling this time, Yukari?"

"Would I ever trick you, Reimu?" Yukari asked. When Reimu responded with a blank expression that could kill a goat, Yukari continued. "It's just some clothes to fit in with that world, a bit of food, some money..."

Reimu's eyes lit up. "Wow, Yukari giving me money? I should visit other worlds more often!"

"Well, I certainly couldn't let you go empty-handed, could I? Your new friend seems to have packed pretty light, so I put together some things for her too." With a flourish of her hand, three small backpacks appeared on the floor. Each one had a letter embroidered on it; they read "R", "M", and "N".

Nakoruru looked up at Yukari. "Th-thank you, Miss..." she started to say.

At the sound of her voice, Yukari whipped her head towards Nakoruru and glared into her eyes. "So you must be Nakoruru. I hear you are going to be taking these two and facing a very powerful foe." She began walking towards her; to Nakoruru, the entire world seemed to become Yukari. "It's likely that this entity could become a threat to Gensokyo if not taken care of, and if Reimu and Marisa are lost that would be a huge blow to our safety as well." Venom dripped from her voice. "Failure... is not... an option."

Nakoruru was quaking at this point. And then, as suddenly as the terrifying atmosphere started, it stopped. "Anyway!" Yukari said, suddenly smiling and clapping her hands together. "Enjoy your trip, girls~!" With that, Yukari literally fell into the floor, vanishing instantly.

Nakoruru stood silently, in absolute fear of what she just witnessed. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.

"It's okay, it's just me," Reimu said. "Yukari likes to act scary. She's just a weirdo. Don't worry about her."

"Yo, real quick, I gotta shoot back home to grab some magic stuff for the trip. Be back in a few!" Marisa said out of nowhere. She grabbed the "M" backpack, dashed out the door, and flew off.

Nakoruru watched her fly into the sky. "You can both fly, huh..."

Reimu just raised an eyebrow at this remark; she certainly couldn't imagine a powerful fighter who couldn't fly. "So, Nakoruru, why don't you tell me a bit more about this tournament? Like, what are the fights like?'

Nakoruru turned towards her. "Well, as far as I've found out, the teams participate in a series of consecutive one-on-one fights between the members; which ever team has members standing at the end wins. The fights are non-lethal and go until knockout or forfeit."

"Ah, that's probably good. We're already used to non-lethal combat. Just makes things cleaner, really." Reimu thought for a moment. "Do you know anything about the other competitors?"

"Nothing specific, but I know that a wide variety of powerful competitors with lots of different techniques will join. We'll have to be ready for anything."

"So the usual, then," Reimu said. The two lapsed into silence after that. Eventually, though, they heard Marisa land outside.

"Alright, I'm ready for ya!" Marisa yelled from outside.

Reimu looked at Nakoruru. "Ready to get going, then?"

"Y-yeah."

The two girls stepped out of the shrine building and onto the stone path, each with the backpack Yukari gave them.

"Mamahaha, here!" Nakoruru called; the hawk swooped out of the sky and landed on her shoulder. "Alright, now each of you take one of my hands," Nakoruru said. After they complied, Nakoruru began mumbling. A white light began to emit from Nakoruru, which grew to surround the three girls.

After a few seconds, the light faded, and the girls were gone from Gensokyo.


	2. Welcome To KOF

"Lady and gentleman fighters... The champion's belt is here. Come and get it! The King of Fighters... begins now!!"

So announced the man known as Antonov, on live TV and online streams to the world. People all over the world immediately took notice as he, a Russian billionaire and media mogul, announced to the press that he had bought the exclusive rights to hold the next King of Fighters tournament, and revealed his plans to hold the largest event in the tradition's history.

Apparently part of holding the "largest event" included not only renting out an entire football stadium in longtime KOF location Southtown, but also landing a massive high-tech airship next to said stadium. It was this airship that, following the instructions on their official invitations, Nakoruru, Reimu, and Marisa found themselves entering on the morning of the day of the first round of the King of Fighters tournament.

Reimu looked up at the massive metal machine and raised her eyebrows. "Can this thing really fly?"

Marisa shrugged. "After that whole thing with the treasure ship, I don't even bother asking anymore."

Reimu smiled. "I guess you're right."

Nakoruru looked on as the two chatted, suddenly realizing that she was the odd one out of the three. Noticing her gaze, Marisa turned towards her and grinned. "Oh, that was a wild story. I'll tell you about it after we figure out what we're doing here, okay?"

"O-oh! Thank you..." Nakoruru said.

At that moment, the three girls were stopped by two tall men in black suits. One of them spoke up. "Sorry, ladies, but this area is for fighters and staff only."

The second man suddenly butted in. "Hey, they could be fighters. We're supposed to ask for their invitation, remember?"

The first man scoffed. "What, these girls? Look at what they're wearing. They look like cosplayers."

"We let a guy in a whole-ass dinosaur suit in here, like, twenty minutes ago. If a witch with a broom says they're a fighter then as long as they have the invitation they can come right in."

"The dinosaur guy was jacked as hell because he was a fucking pro wrestler. Clearly not the same thing."

The second man rolled his eyes. "Will you stop being a pain for a second?" He turned towards the girls. "Do you have an invitation?"

"I do," Nakoruru said, glad to finally have a chance to speak. She pulled out the envelope with the famous red wax seal still attached, even though she had opened it to read the invitation letter a long time ago, and handed it to the guard. He opened it and looked at the paper inside.

"Another World team, huh? Guessing you've got some kind of a fantasy land gimmick? That sounds neat. Follow me, please," the guard said, gesturing with his arm while pointedly glaring at the other guard, who rolled his eyes in response. The three girls followed him into the ship.

After a guided trip to their room (a large, luxurious suite with separate bedrooms, a nice bathroom, and "gadgets like the junk Kourin collects, except these actually work"), Nakoruru, Reimu, and Marisa found themselves in the Fighters' Lounge. The helpful guard explained that it's a place where the fighters and any of their guests (family, friends, mentors, etc.) are meant to hang out before the matches start, "because the most exciting part of the King of Fighters tournament is meeting new people!" or something like that. The room was active, but not so loud the three couldn't talk, so to help them get to know each other more, Reimu and Marisa were telling Nakoruru about some of their previous adventures.

"...but get this: the reason the raven even had that power in the first place? It was those mountain gods from before, I tell ya!" Marisa said.

"Wow, really? They seem like quite the busy pair," Nakoruru responded.

"Tell me about it," Reimu leaned back and stretched her arms before putting her hands behind her head. "We're all more or less friends now, but those guys really knew how to cause some trouble when they first showed up. Not only that, but all the business with the geysers ended up causing ANOTHER incident..." The three continued their chat for a while longer until they were interrupted a bright, cheery young woman's voice.

"Hi! I haven't seen you three before; is this your first KOF tournament?"

Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru looked up at the source of the voice. It belonged to a girl who looked to be around their age, maybe a little younger, dressed in a seifuku, with long, purple hair flowing down her back. Next to her were a brown-haired boy in a blue hoodie and sweatpants and a short old man with white hair covering his eyes, dressed in green and carrying a sake gourd.

Reimu spoke first. "Yeah, we're... new here. We're the, uh..." She trailed off, and looked towards Nakoruru for assistance.

"We're the Another World Team," Nakoruru cut in. "I am Nakoruru, and this is Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame," she added, gesturing to her partners.

"'Another World'? Sounds fishy," the boy butted in. "Whatever your excuse for those goofy costumes is, it won't matter in the ring!"

"Don't be rude, Kensou!" the girl said, elbowing him. Caught off-guard, he stumbled and nearly fell over, causing Marisa to chuckle. "We're not even facing them in the first round, so we might as well be nice," the purple-haired girl went on. She turned back towards Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru. "Anyway, I'm Athena Asamiya. It's great to meet you!" she said, flashing a bright, genuine smile.

"And I'm Sie Kensou!" the boy added, quickly standing up straight. "I'm Athena's... I'm her... Athena's... b... her b-"

"He's my trusted fellow Psycho Soldier," Athena said pointedly, shooting a quick glare in Kensou's direction. Marisa snickered at this, causing Reimu to look at her blankly. Marisa shook her head, which acted as a silent _don't worry about it._ "And this," Athena went on, gesturing at the old man, "is our esteemed master."

The old man stepped forward, chuckling. "Oh, don't say it like that. I'm just a silly old man here to keep some whippersnappers in check. The name's Chin Gentsai. It's nice to meet all you ladies."

Marisa looked down at the sake gourd Chin was carrying and grinned. "Yo old man, can I get a drink? I've been wondering what the alcohol was like here."

Chin laughed loudly. "Oh, now here's a gal I can relate to! Sadly, I need all my stash for the fights. I'm sure you understand."

Reimu cocked an eyebrow. "A drunken master, eh? I've fought someone like that before. You'd probably get along with her."

"Um..." The conversation was interrupted by Nakoruru's gentle voice. "You said 'Psycho Soldier' earlier... what does that mean?"

Athena smiled. "It means that we're warriors of justice, who use our psychic powers to defeat evil!" She struck a pose, giving a salute with two fingers and winking. "No one can stop us!"

"Warriors of justice..." Nakoruru repeated. "I'm sorry for asking this when we just met, but..." She swallowed. "The three of us have traveled between worlds to stop a great evil that will manifest at this tournament. I hope you can... I..."

She trailed off and looked down, unable to figure out how to word her request. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Athena leaning forward, smiling at her.

"Hey, it's okay," Athena said gently. "These tournaments have had lots of powerful villains in the past, but we and other competitors have always pulled through." She stands up and puts on a determined expression. "We'll definitely keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and we'll fight to keep everyone safe, just like we always have!"

Nakoruru's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Thank you so much! I, no... we really appreciate the help."

"You know it!" Kensou added. "We'll power through the finals and beat whoever this evil guy is, no sweat!"

"Don't get cocky, Kensou," Athena warned. "You know what happened when you get cocky."

Kensou drooped. "Why do you gotta harsh my vibes like that, Athena..."

At that turn of phrase, Athena giggled. "You're such a dork sometimes, Kensou," she said endearingly.

"A-ah, well, I..." Kensou sputtered, smiling and turning red.

Athena turned back towards the three girls. "So tell me about yourselves! You said you're from another world, right? What's it like?"

Nakoruru spoke up first. "Well, we're not all from the same one. I'm from Japan, two centuries in the past. I was once a normal human, but I became one with the spirits in order to protect nature across space and time. Um... I can call upon animals to assist me, including my hawk companion, Mamahaha..."

"Ooh, you like animals? That's wonderful!" Athena beamed.

"Huh?" Nakoruru blushed slightly. "Um, yes... I love all of nature's creatures, and I will fight to protect them! Especially... especially if she comes back…"  
At this, Reimu cocked an eyebrow. "She?"

"Mizuki Rashojin. A powerful demon. I defeated her in my time, but..."

Athena looked at her. "Is she coming back? Is this the evil you're worried about."

Nakoruru looked down. "I... don't know... I feel her presence, but I feel others too... Whatever it is, it's something not normal."

Athena nodded, and the group fell to silence for a few moments. Hoping to break the solemn atmosphere, Marisa spoke up.

"Well, I'm Marisa Kirisame, ordinary human magician and youkai exterminator." She gave a wink and a smile. "I bet the folks around here are pretty strong, but I know they ain't seen magic like this before. And this is... I dunno. Some nobody I guess. Team needed some filler," she said, gesturing towards Reimu.

"Aw, shush," Reimu said, shoving Marisa playfully, causing her to giggle. "I'm a shrine maiden and also a youkai exterminator. Marisa and I are from Gensokyo. I'd tell you about it, but really, it's not all that special. It just is, I guess."

"Hold up," Kensou interjected. "Did you say 'youkai exterminator'?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why?"

"Well, um." Kensou thinks a moment. "So you're, like, paranormal investigators?"

Reimu's face was blank. "Para... No, it's pretty normal, really. Everyday business. Not much investigation, either; usually it's pretty clear who's causing problems."

Kensou's brow furrowed. He was clearly having trouble getting his point across. "But, like... youkai? Like... kappa, tengu, tanuki, that sort of thing?"

"Yeah, we've run into those. There's one tengu in particular who's a real pain in the ass. Always asking for interviews and taking pictures when I don't want her around." Reimu leaned back and sighed.

"But... none of those things are real, right? You sound like you're full of-" Suddenly, he was interrupted by the voice of a teenage girl from behind him.

"Kensou, just at these tournaments you've seen supernatural powers, demonic sacrifices, superpowered clones, and more. There's literally a cyborg on the other side of the room, right now. Are you really gonna try and draw the line at some girls claiming they fight some monsters?"

Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru peered at the source of the voice to see a short, brown-haired girl with a pink ribbon in her hair, a black sleeveless top, and baggy white pants. Next to her stood a young boy, no older than ten, dressed in all orange.

"Aw, jeez, Momoko, how long were you standing there?" Kensou said, looking embarrassed.

"Just long enough to see you make a fool of yourself."

"Oh, don't you start in front of our new friends, you two," Athena scolded. She turned back towards Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru. "This is Momoko, by the way."  
"Nice to meet ya!" Momoko added cheerfully.

"My name is Bao," the boy dressed in orange said politely. "It's nice to meet you."

"They're our trainees," Athena explained. "They're not entering this year, though, they're just here to watch."

"Huh, okay," Reimu said, feeling a bit behind in the conversation. "So, when do the fights start, anyway?"

"I'm not sure myself," Athena said. "The tournaments are always big events, but they've never had this fancy airship thing for all the competitors. It's a little new even to us. This Antonov guy is really going all-out. Still, there'll probably be an announcement of some sort. Who are you guys fighting first?"

Reimu thought a moment. "Um, uh..." She racked her brain. Did she even look at the bracket beforehand?

"The Women Fighters Team, apparently," Marisa jumped in, causing Reimu to sigh in relief. "Heh, kind of a redundant name, y'know? Not like we see many men fighting where we're from."

"What about that nyuudou guy? There's him," Reimu brought up.

"Does he even count? It's the monk calling all the shots. He doesn't even talk." Suddenly, Marisa laughed. "Sorry about that, I just imagined Kourin in a battle. What would he even do, talk people to sleep?" Reimu laughed at the mental image of their mutual friend.

"Oh, those ladies are tough," Chin said. Gesturing to Bao, he continued. "You remember fighting them, right?"

"Yes, grampa! They were really strong!" Bao said excitedly.

"That's my boy," Chin smiled, picking Bao up, making him giggle.

Suddenly, a loud chime sounded over the speakers. The conversations in the Fighters' Lounge died down, and a polite woman's voice blared from the loudspeakers. "Welcome, esteemed fighters! We thank you all for joining the King of Fighters tournament. Please direct your attention to the large screen at the front of the room." The lights died down, and a wall-sized television lit up, capturing everyone's attention. On the screen, Antonov, clad in his burgundy suit that failed to hide his massive physique in the slightest, appeared.

"Welcome, welcome! To all contestants in this tournament, the world is waiting to see you! The first match will be announced right after this message. Can you claim the champion's belt? I'm looking forward to seeing you all in action!" With that, the image of Antonov disappeared, being replaced by a slick graphical presentation.

"The first match of the tournament will be the China Team vs. the Psycho Soldier Team. Members of those two teams, please proceed to the elevators as directed on the screen. All other competitors and all guests of competitors, you may remain in the Fighters' Lounge, or you may proceed to the special spectator section reserved for competitors and their guests to enjoy front-row seats to view the action. Thank you!" The screen shut off and the room's lights returned.

"Oh, that's us!" Athena said excitedly. "Let's go!"

"We'll cheer nice and loud for you!" Momoko exclaimed with a smile. "Come with me, Bao, we'll go get some seats."

The five of them split into their groups and left, leaving Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru alone amid the other fighters.

"Let's go watch there too," Marisa said. "I've been dying to see what the fights are like here."

"Make sure you save some seats for us, dear Reimu~" a familiar voice said playfully.

Reimu whipped around to see Yukari standing there smiling. "Yukari! What are you doing here? What are you plotting?" she shouted, pointing her gohei at the smiling youkai.

"Plotting? This is your fight. It's up to you three to do your best. Why would we interfere in something so important?"

Reimu frowned. "Then what are you doing here, then?"

Yukari spread her arms in a grand gesture. "We're here to watch the tournament, of course! Ah, such an exciting show... We could never put on something this grand in Gensokyo.

"Ugh..." Reimu grumbled. "Wait, why do you keep saying 'we'?"

As if on cue, a tall lady with pink hair dressed in a sky-blue robe and holding a folding fan walked in, flanked by a short, serious-looking girl dressed in a green vest and skirt, her white bowl-cut hair contrasted with a black headband. Nakoruru shuddered as they entered, feeling death in the air.

The tall woman spoke first. "Ah, American food is so filling. Thank you for the suggestions, Yukari!" she said cheerfully.

Marisa hopped up and sped over to the shorter girl. "Youmu, talk to me. The hell's going on here?"

Youmu sighed. "They told me they're just here to watch. If they have anything else planned, I sure don't know it."

"Alright, that's as good an answer as we'll get for now." Marisa turned to Nakoruru. "Yo, Nako! This is Youmu, and that's Yuyuko. Some more friends of ours."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you..." Nakoruru said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Yuyuko walked up to her. "Is something wrong? Would you like something to eat? Youmu, dear, why don't you get her something?"

"Ah, no, it's not that!" Nakoruru said, easily able to tell the kind of situation Youmu was in here. "It's just... I can sense some kinds of energy, and you two... I feel death emanating from you two..."

Yuyuko looked at her quietly for a second, and then smiled playfully. "Of course you do! We're ghosts, after all!"

"H-huh!?" Nakoruru yelped.

"A-ah, I'm not a g-g-ghost! I'm just... half-phantom," Youmu interjected.

"It's okay, Nakoruru," Reimu said. "Youmu's a good friend of ours. You can trust her. And Yuyuko and Yukari... well, at least they won't get in trouble with me around."

"Oh you _wound_ me, Reimu. No faith at all!" Yukari said overdramatically.

"Yeah, whatever. C'mon, let's go watch the match," Reimu said, getting up and leading the group towards the spectator seats.

The six girls sat in the stands, arranged in two groups of three, with Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru a row in front of Yuyuko, Yukari, and Youmu. The crowd was loud, but the high-tech mic and speaker systems let everyone hear the fighters easily. After all, Antonov was quite aware that part of the appeal of KOF was the larger-than-life personalities of the competitors.

"So it looks like that Kensou guy is up first, eh?" Marisa said, observing the ring. "And he's against... does that kid have a pillow?"

"It looks like he's falling asleep standing up," Reimu remarked.

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Nakoruru said. "He's-"

"Really strong? Yeah, for sure," Marisa interrupted.

Nakoruru nodded. "I sense a powerful aura from him."

"Oh I didn't really pay attention to that," Marisa replied. "I just know that anyone who shows up to a fight and starts falling asleep is definitely just trying to make themselves look weak. Ain't that right, Reimu?"

Reimu looked at the ring silently for a moment as the competitors made their first moves. "Kensou's going to lose," she spoke suddenly.

Nakoruru turned to Reimu. "Are you sure? He seems strong, too..."

"Nah, Reimu's right," Marisa added. "He is strong, but he's too cocky. He fell right for the sleepy kid's trap. He's underestimating him."

Nakoruru turned back to the fight. She saw Kensou fighting aggressively, swinging at the sleepy boy (Meitenkun, according to the giant display screen) with strong punches, kicks, and psychic blasts, but his blows were either narrowly missing or being shrugged off.

"What's the matter? Scared?" Kensou said as he continued his assault, not realizing he was being played. With a shout, he jumped into the air, and then dove at Meitenkun with a flying palm strike.

"Oh, here it comes," Reimu said to no one in particular.

In a flash, Meitenkun's eyes opened, and he instantly rose into the air to meet Kensou and unleashed a huge burst of some sort of energy, which hit Kensou with full force and sent him flying across the arena. As he stood up, he found himself suddenly under assault; Meitenkun had switched completely to offense and was overwhelming him with a flurry of powerful strikes. Almost before they could react, the round was over, and Kensou was on the ground, dazed.

"The jump was his fatal mistake," Youmu suddenly said. "Aerial assaults are powerful, but they leave you very vulnerable. Kensou assumed that because Meitenkun hadn't countered his lighter strikes, he wouldn't counter the heavier ones, which was a grave miscalculation."

Nakoruru looked back at her, surprised at this sudden and careful analysis from such a nervous-seeming girl. "You sound quite knowledgeable about close-range combat," she remarked.

Youmu began to look proud, but before she could take the compliment, Yuyuko reached over and started pinching her cheek. "And that's why my dear Youmu is the best bodyguard a princess could ask for!" she said affectionately.

"But I'm just your gardener..." Youmu whined. Yukari quietly chuckled.

The fight continued. Chin was able to overcome Meitenkun, but was then defeated by another old man, a master by the name of Tung Fu Rue. Tung was then bested by Athena, who went into the final round facing a teenager named Shun'ei. Upon seeing him, Nakoruru's eyes widened. "There," she said, pointing to him.

"Huh?" Reimu and Marisa both looked at her.

"His aura... it's similar to the presence that I followed here."

"Huh. Y'think he's our target?" Marisa asked.

"Hmm..." Nakoruru pondered the question.

"It's not him, but he's connected," Reimu said suddenly.

"What? How can you tell?" Nakoruru asked.

"I can tell," Reimu replied unhelpfully.

Marisa rolled her eyes. "That's Reimu's famous 'intuition' for ya," she said. "Every now and then she just figures stuff out."

The fight went on, with the group chatting, until the final knockout, where Shun'ei prevailed over Athena. After the match wrapped up, the giant screen displayed the next match.

"Another World Team vs. Women Fighter's Team... Hey hey, that's us!" Marisa said, hopping to her feet. Reimu and Nakoruru rose after her.

Yukari smiled. "Break a leg, Reimu," she tittered.

"Very funny," Reimu replied, smirking.

The team returned into the fighters' lounge, and on the way to the ring they passed the Psycho Soldiers, who were discussing their faults under the tutelage of their master. _He may seem like a goofy old drunk, but he's pretty knowledgeable, too,_ Reimu thought.

Noticing them passing by, Athena turned to Reimu, Marisa, and Nakoruru and smiled. "Good luck, you guys!" she said, beaming.

"Thanks," Nakoruru answered. One elevator ride later, and the three stepped out into the stadium, walking to the ring and their first fight.


End file.
